I started writing when I was 8. My mom got me a journal where I could rant (prob so I won't be an annoying brat). I stopped writing for 8 years until the pen and then later on the keyboard called on me again. I blog because I like writing and that's just about it. Hope you get inspired though... Bite the apple!

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Sunday, July 22, 2012

Yogyakarta

It took me several visits to Jakarta before I managed to say the correct pronunciation for Yogyakarta (it's Jogjakarta), much to the consternation of my Indonesian friends. As a Filipino we were trained to pronounce words based on their spelling so I also found it difficult to remember that "C" in Indonesia is read as "Ch". I'm glad though that I have the opportunity to learn more about the other cultures in our region.

I managed to visit Yogyakarta for the very first time last week, but only for less than 24 hours. I asked Pungkas lots of questions about Yogyakarta all day (hope he didn't get annoyed haha). I learned quite a lot of things from him.

I was surprised to find out that Jogja has a Sultan. He lives in a palace which is at the center of the axis from north to south. The city was also built in a way that the Sultan can see across the city. Pungkas explained to me that Yogyakarta was supposed to be a separate country, but because of good relations they have with the Indonesian government, they have an agreement that it will be run by the Sultan.

I didn't get to see much of Yogyakarta since I finished work late. One thing I certainly enjoyed though (aside from the warm welcome I got) was experiencing the local cuisine. Pungkas brought me to Bale Raos, known to be the Sultan's kitchen. I loved the fact that the food wasn't spicy and tasted very similar to some Filipino dishes. Aside from the lovely food in the restaurant they also had a huge souvenir shop where I ended up buying another batik blouse (oh no!).

Hope to be able to come back to Yogyakarta again and have some time to visit Borobudur.